GULF WATCH: Day 85 : A Daily Briefing Paper On Developments In The Crisis

Military Front:

The Pentagon is considering sending as many as 100,000 more troops to join the 210,000 U.S. military personnel already deployed in Saudi Arabia. Defense Secretary Dick Cheney said the buildup does not signal a U.S. intent to attack Iraq. Likely candidates for the further buildup are armored divisions.

CIA Director William H. Webster gave a gloomy assessment of chances of peacefully settling the Persian Gulf crisis. He stressed the danger of Iraq’s continuing military buildup and raised the possibility of a military attack on Iraqi forces. Diplomatic Front:

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak returned from a regional tour and said that Arab leaders want to avoid war but do not want to give in to Iraq’s Saddam Hussein. He said leaders he met from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman will not “compromise on the necessity of an Iraqi pullout from Kuwait.”

Japan’s proposal to deploy troops is facing fierce resistance in Parliament. Newly published polls show Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu’s popularity in a sharp dive, largely because of the deployment issue, analysts said. Hostage Front:

Saddam Hussein has decided to free 700 Bulgarians held in Iraq, Baghdad TV said. Meantime, French envoys in Iraq prepared for the expected release of an estimated 400 French nationals.

A senior exiled Kuwaiti government official said that up to 7,000 Kuwaiti nationals were known to have been killed or are missing in the aftermath of Iraq’s invasion. U.S. Forces in the Persian Gulf:

U.S. troops: 210,000+

Tanks: 1,000

Armored fighting vehicles: 300

Warships: 59

F-117A Stealth fighters: 22

F-111F bombers: 14

B-52 bombers: 6+

F-15 and F-16 fighters: 150

A-10 anti-tank aircraft: 98

Carrier-based aircraft: 240